Catherine Hardwicke won’t direct “Twilight” sequel “New Moon”
Catherine Hardwicke on location in Oregon during the filming of “Twilight.” (Associated Press photo)
Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke announced today that Hardwicke, the director of “Twilight,” will not helm the film version of “New Moon,” the second book in Stephenie Meyer’s cult-favorite four-book saga.
Summit now is searching for a different director to guide “New Moon” to the big screen.
According to today’s news release, “Summit’s targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, ‘New Moon,’ does not work with Ms. Hardwicke’s required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen. Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for ‘New Moon.’”
“I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct ’New Moon,’” Hardwicke said in the release. ”Directing ‘Twilight’ has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel – it is a great story.”
“Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the ‘Twilight’ franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects,” Erik Feig, Summit’s president of production, said in the release. “We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch.”
With “Twilight,” Hardwicke (”Thirteen,” “Lords of Dogtown”) set a record for the biggest opening weekend ever for a female director. The movie made about $70 million in its first weekend, and has made more than $138 million in 17 days.
Keeping in mind that the movie only cost about $37 million to make, so Summit has cleared more than $100 million from Hardwicke’s film.
The movie got middling reviews from critics, but many of its diehard fans praised it. It’s hard to believe that Hardwicke guided the movie, which has put Summit on the map, to such incredible financial payoffs and won’t be around for the second film.
According to Variety, “New Moon” negotiations with Hardwicke went on for two weeks before she passed on the movie Saturday.
“New Moon” focuses on the blooming relationship between heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) after Bella’s vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves her for her safety. In the course of the book, Jacob turns into a werewolf, like many of the other men in his American Indian tribe.
Given the werewolf transformations, “New Moon” will require a lot of CGI and a lot more special effects than the low-budget “Twilight,” which was widely criticized for the cheapness of its effects. A former production designer, Hardwicke wanted more time to prepare for the sequel, according to Variety.
According to the trade publication, Hardwicke and Summit also conflicted over the script for “New Moon.” “Twilight” screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg turned in a draft of the “New Moon” script the week the first movie opened.
One big issue with the sequel for Summit is that Meyer’s book centers on Edward’s decision to leave Bella, her subsequent depression and the close bond that develops between Bella and Jacob. Edward is hardly in the second book, which Summit perceives as a problem because Pattinson has become a heartthrob adored by legions of fervent fans.
From Summit’s perspective, the more Pattinson in the sequel, the better. According to Variety, Rosenberg figured out a way to get more Edward in “New Moon,” but Hardwicke wasn’t willing to do a rush job on a script that still needed months of development.
Having read “Twilight” (and subsequently the other three books), I felt that Hardwicke’s movie was a faithful and solid adaptation that left some of its potential on the page. It would have benefited greatly from more money for better effects and greater scope.
Hopefully, the next director will guide the sequel with care - and squeeze more money out of Summit.
-BAM
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